Be My Jedi
by Nympho Junky
Summary: When the Ghost crew takes in a relentless yet aborable stowaway, Kanan finds himself conflicting with feelings he didn't even know he could feel.
1. Chapter 1

"My names Mio. I'm 9 years old, and I live in Tarkintown. Not gonna lie, it's a pretty sad place to live or at least it was a sad place to live, until _they _came, until _he _came. He and his team come around sometimes and give the town's people food. They're all so nice, but he's special, because the day I get him to say _'I love you' _is the day I'll be his bride."

Mio watched as her "future husband" separated from the group, along with an unknown Twi'lek, and went off in another direction.

"One day you'll be my husband," she whispered to herself.

* * *

The Ghost crew arrived at Tarkintown making another food delivery to the town and its good people. They'd just stolen yet another shipment from the Empire's grasp and were ready to make a deal with their "pal" Vizago. While Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb were busy handing food out, Kanan and Hera went off to seal the deal, but unbeknownst to any of them a certain 9 year old had her own plans.

"Mio, what's this?" a red head, ponytailed girl asked her best friend in confusion.

"It's just a little gift, Circe," Mio answered," The other half is for you Izzy," Mio handed the gift to her other best friend, "You guys know I don't have much so I just ripped my stuffed bear in half and sewed each side up."

"But why?" Izzy asked in her usual shy voice.

"Yeah this is nice and all but why are you giving us this," Circe asked in suspicion.

Mio smiled to herself, thinking of what she was about to say. She yanked her friends into a huddle so she could explain everything.

"WHAT!?" Circe and Izzy both jumped back.

"Will you help me?" Mio smiled.

"Mio, you can't do that. You'll get in so much trouble," Izzy said not daring to raise her voice but it was obvious she was very frantic and concerned for her friend's wellbeing.

"Have you completely lost it!? I mean seriously, you're gonna ditch us for some dude you don't even know. Do you know how stupid that is!?" Circe was almost yelling.

"Not to mention how dangerous it is," Izzy added.

"I know him plenty," Mio stated," And I'm not ditching you. I'll be back as soon as we get married."

Izzy and Circe were too stunned for words, but knowing Mio as long as they had there wasn't really anything they could say or do to change her mind at this point. Mio was a very head-strong girl.

"Please, please, pleeeeease. There's no one else here I can ask," Mio cupped her hands together and gave her best puppy-dog face.

"Are you sure you want this?" Circe asked.

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life," Mio confirmed.

Though they both gave a long sigh a doubt, Circe and Izzy agreed to help their friend with her plans.

Mio squealed with joy and lassoed her friends in a tight hug," You guys are the best!" With that the three girls went to set the plan in action.

Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb were handing out the last of the food when a small Rodian girl approached them. She seemed nervous. She was shaky and her face was starting to cringe as if she was about to cry.

"Do you want something to eat sweetie," Sabine said sweetly and handed the girl a yogan. The girl hesitantly took it from Sabine's hand.

"I uh…I j-just wanted t-to say that um…that I-I think you guys a-are really umm…nice," the girl finally managed to stutter out.

"Oh, well that's very kind of you to say," Sabine responded.

"W-What are your names?" The girl looked down blushing at Sabine's polite tone.

"I'm Sabine. This is Zeb and that's Ezra," Sabine introduced them," What's yours?"

"I-I'm Izzy," the Rodian girl responded.

"Well you should probably head on home Izzy. It's getting kinda dark and you don't want your parents to start worrying about you, do you?" Sabine said starting to turn and head back towards the ship.

"ACTUALLY I WAS WONDERING WHAT YOU GUYS DO WHEN YOU FLY IN SPACE AND STUFF!" Izzy said in one frantic breath. She was just trying to buy her friends time.

While Izzy was distracting, Circe was helping Mio climb into a crate that had already been emptied.

"Ya know you're crazy for doing this, but I'm even crazier for helping you," Circe scolded.

"Less talky more bendy," Mio ordered. Circe got on her hands and knees so that Mio could use her as a step stool. Mio toppled over into the crate with a heavy thud, but luckily none of the crew members noticed.

"You be careful Mio. Don't die ok," Circe said through the crate.

"Stop worrying, it's me," Mio said in a reassuring tone. With Circe's help Mio slid the lid back on the crate.

Circe made eye contact with Izzy. Her big black eyes read _'Help Me' _

"Bye Mio," she squeaked out before she rushed over to help Izzy.

"Where've you been? We gotta go before we get in trouble," she said interrupting Ezra mid-storytelling. She yanked Izzy away and they made themselves scarce.

"You think she'll be ok?" Izzy asked finally calmed.

"I sure hope so," Circe replied," But somebody's gonna notice she's gone sooner or later."

* * *

When Kanan and Hera returned the crew headed back to the ship, unaware of their new guest. The crates, once filled with food, were set to the side in the entrance of the ship.

"Well that went smoother than usual," Hera said.

"Yeah, I don't know what's put Vizago in such a good mood, but I hope it stays like this," Kanan agreed. It really seemed like everything had been running unruly for the Rebels lately, being shot at by troopers and twice as many TIE fighters can be," Why don't we take a small break? Let's go to Old Jho's," Kanan suggested.

His words brightened everyone's mood a bit more. Shocking how you don't get to relax much when you're running from a supremacy as great as the Empire, but the mood was spoiled when Chopper started whirling around the room trying to get everyone's attention.

"What's wrong with that nut bucket now?" Zeb growled in agitation.

"He's probably just got some screws lose," Ezra waved it off.

Kanan and Hera headed to the cockpit, Sabine went to go paint in her room, Ezra went to the kitchen to fix something to eat, and Zeb headed to their room to take a nap. All of them ignoring what Chopper was trying to tell them about the not-so-empty crate that had been brought aboard. None of the others may have been able to see it, but Chopper's scanners could see right through.


	2. Chapter 2

The whole way to their destination Chopper was not letting up on trying to inform everyone.

"That was a good call love," Hera said starting the ship up.

"Everyone has been working pretty hard lately," Kanan said, "Especially you."

That earned a smile from Hera. Kanan got up from his chair and stood behind Hera and began to rub her shoulders.

"That's nice," Hera said enjoying her special treatment.

"I know how stressed you can be sometimes."

The cockpit was silent for pretty long while with only the hum to ship to be heard. Kanan rubbed gentle circle into Hera's upper back and then worked his back onto her shoulders.

"Hey Kanan."

"Yeah."

"You still can't paint the ship."

"Oh come on!" Kanan flung his arms up and flopped down into his chair.

"Did you really think that'd work."

About a week ago Sabine and Ezra had come to Kanan with the bright suggestion that they should paint the Ghost. The adult in Kanan told him no, but the child in Kanan said the Ghost would look so sick with some hot rod flames on the side, but when he pitched the idea to Hera she immediately refused. He was still pretty persistent though.

"_How can you just sit around when there's an intruder aboard?" _Chopper said in array of beeping noises as he rolled into the cockpit.

Chopper spun around so frantically Hera couldn't catch what he was saying. He kept rolling around in a circle, bumping into to Hera's chair every time he passed her, and it was beginning to annoy the pilot.

"Chop did you fix the targeting systems like I told you," Hera said in annoy. She pointed at the door so the astromech would get the pic.

"_What? Didn't you just hear what I said," Chopped beeped back at her._

_"_I might be able to hear you when the targeting system gets fixed," Hera said not even looking at Chopper.

The droid grumbled at the lack of listening and left to go find someone who would listen to him.

Sabine was spray-painting her latest masterpiece in her room. Her room looked like a rainbow on steroids with its vast array of colors colliding with one another all along the walls and ceiling. Sabine's mind went to a whole other world when she painted something new and the colors were her guide, but she was broken out of her out-of-world mind state by a loud crash. A certain astromech came barreling in her room so fast he didn't have time to dodge the pile of paint cans sitting in the room.

"My new paint!" Sabine said sounding angry and sad all at once. She glared over at the droid who was grumbling at the paint that had splattered all over him.

"_Sabine there's someone he-"_

"Save it Chop. You've done enough damage. Just go bother someone else," Sabine picked up the cans trying to salvage what paint was left.

Chopper didn't even try to say anything further. He just wheeled out of the angry Mandalorian's rooms. '_Why won't anyone listen' _he thought. Chopper, to his own robotic dismay, was going to have to resort to his last, and most loathed option.

Ezra sat eating a well-prepared sandwich when he was interrupted by a sound he had come to grow annoyed by.

"What do you want?" Ezra said not even turning to look at the droid. As if Ezra could actually understand, Chopper responded.

"_To do this," _he beeped. With one flick of his retractable arm Chopper shocked Ezra off his seat.

"CHOPPER!" Ezra yelled watching his tormenter retreat.

"Wait for me," Ezra said to his sandwich before taking off after Chop.

Chopper wheeled into the room where a certain Lasat was asleep, and the very sight of seeing Zeb in such a peaceful state made Chopper's annoying powers activate. He quickly shot out a surge of electricity that caused Zeb to twist and jerk around in his bed. Zeb let out a vicious growl, being awoken from his slumber and looked all around until his eyes fell on the bucket of bolts he so passionately despised, but then Ezra bolted in only to be tripped by Chopper and sent flying right at his roommate.

"CHOPPER!" They both yelled out as the robotic devil laughed out of their room.

Ezra and Zeb chased the mechanical menace all the way to the docking bay. Chopper rolled up to one of the crates and pointed to it, but his pursuers were too clouded with anger and annoyance to notice what the droid was trying to tell them. Chopper had just enough time to pop the lid of the crate before Zeb swung at him with his fist. Zeb continued chasing Chopper around, but Ezra glanced over into the crate Chopper was trying so hard to draw their attention to.

"Um...Zeb..?"

Ezra's uneasy words made Zeb stop, his fist in the air ready to pound Chopper, who was pinned down on the floor.

"Were we supposed to pick up a kid or….no?"

"What?" Zeb said confused. He let go of Chopper and went to inspect the crate Ezra was peering in.

Both were rendered speechless. A purple-haired girl lay sleeping in the crate. She looked so comfortable and tranquil Zeb and Ezra almost didn't want to wake her, but they obviously had to do something.


	3. Chapter 3

"Now what made you think going and jumping in some crate was a good idea," Zeb asked.

"Yeah do you know how dangerous that is?" Ezra added.

'I already got this lecture from Izzy and Circe' Mio thought sitting atop the very crate she had hid in. She refused to say anything or even look at the two. Upon being woken up from her nap, her backpack being searched, and being interrogated Mio wasn't in the best mood. She gave a small side glance up at Ezra and Zeb, her olive green eyes read annoyance.

"What is going on?" Kanan said climbing down the ladder, Sabine, Hera, and Chopper right behind him.

Mio felt her face heat up when Kanan climbed down that ladder. She'd seen him from a distance before every time the crew delivered to Tarkintown, but she'd never been this close to him before. It was like being in a dream. The type of dream that doesn't just make your heart skip a beat, but makes it run, skip, and jump into your throat and do a somersault. Everything about him was perfect, from his aquamarine eyes to his even-toned voice. She stared at him as a sheepish smile involuntarily grew on her face.

"Turns out we picked up a stowaway back in Tarkintown," Zeb pointed over to their new guest.

"But the problem is she won't say any-"Ezra started.

"My names Mio," Mio shot up with enthusiasm," Mio Tarizzo."

"Oh…well. Mio, why are you on this ship," Kanan asked.

"Because, I want you to marry me," Mio smiled.

The room fell awkwardly silent. No one, especially Kanan, really knew what to say to that.

"I get it of you don't want to take it that fast. We can just start off as boyfriend and girlfriend," Mio smiled even brighter.

"Ya here that love? She wants you to marry her," Hera teased walking up to Kanan.

What was once a warm and fluttery feeling was now empty despair. Mio felt like she had just been stabbed in the heart over and over and over again. _She…She just called him…love. _

"Why don't we start with taking you home?" Sabine said trying to move on from the young girl's proposal.

"What!? I don't wanna go back to Tarkintown," Mio angrily whined.

"Well that's where you're going," Kanan said and coming from him they were like words of betrayal to Mio.

"Mio, sweetie," Sabine kneeling down to her level," You do understand that a rebel ship is no place for a little kid?"

"You let him stay on the ship," Mio pointed at Ezra.

"Hey I'm a teenager," Ezra defended.

"A pretty girly one at that," Mio snapped, managing to get a chuckle from Zeb and Chopper.

"Look you're not staying here and that's that," Kanan said firmly," Hera looks like we have to go back."

"Great and when we just got here," Hera said heavy sarcasm painting her voice.

Everyone went their separate ways, except for Ezra who'd been told to watch the "intruder" until they got back to Tarkintown, but Mio didn't come this far just to be dumped back in that pit she'd come to call a home.

"Hey!" she tugged on Ezra's sleeve," I have to go to the bathroom."

"Seriously?"

Mio answered with an irritated glare.

"Fine, c'mon," Ezra gestured for the girl to follow him.

"I'm right behind you," Mio watched as he climbed up the ladder, and when he was at the top she slammed her fist on the big white button to let the ramp down. The ship was just beginning to lift off the ground so she took the opportunity before they were too high off the ground. Mio tucked herself into a ball and rolled out when she hit the ground. She pat up and dusted the dirt off her dark blue overall dress.

"What the!?" Ezra gasped, but Mio was already sprinting from the ship and headed towards the city.

"Ezra what happened? Why's the ramp down!?" Hera yelled over the com, but out the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse at a wisp of purple headed towards the city. "Please tell me a little girl didn't just one-up you."

"If you ask me we should just leave that little loth-rat out here," Zeb snarled.

Mio may only be 9, but she's pretty fast. She managed to slip away from the Ghost crew and lose them in the winding city streets. While Chopper and Hera stayed back on the ship, everyone else proceeded into the city to search for her.

"You know full and well we can't do that," Sabine said hands on her hip.

"She may be annoying, but she's still just a child. And someone back at Tarkin has to be missing her right now, so it's our job to return her." Kanan stated.

"Yeah you don't want the guilt of leaving someone behind_ again_, do you?" Ezra teased earning and irritated glare from the Lasat.

"Split up, find her, and contact us when you do," Kanan ordered.

With that everyone took off in opposite directions in search of the 9 year old that they'd only met not even a full hour ago.

They had all searched for almost two hours with nothing to show for it.

"Can someone please explain to me how we can find Imperial shipments with no records, but we can't find a little kid in the city," Ezra said into his com.

At this point everyone had become annoyed and tired at this tedious game of hide and seek.

"Just keep searching. She's got to show up eventually," Kanan said, but even he was getting tired at this point.

He quickly ducked behind some poorly placed crates when he spotted a pair of Imperial stormtroopers walking towards him. They vaguely walked past him to immersed in their conversation to notice him. Something told him to follow them, so he did. He trailed behind the troopers, making sure to keep his distance, all the way to a secluded area where a new and improved TIE fighter was landed. His eyes scanned the TIE up and down until they fell on the purple-haired addition sitting on top.

"Mio!" his hands clenched in fear of her being seen.

The tiny girl sat on top of the TIE with the troopers standing directly underneath her.

Kanan actions were swift, he used the Force to knock over some crates to get the guards away, and as soon as they were out of sight he ran up to the TIE.

"Mio get down from there this instant!" Kanan whispered, but he clearly wanted to yell.

"Why," Mio said just loud enough for Kanan to hear.

"Do you know how dangerous and stupid it is to be in a place like this right now? Get Down!"

"So you can dump me back at Tarkin?"

"Look, I can see that it might not be the best place to live, but you have to go back. Your parent's are probably worried sick about you."

"What parents?" Mio said lowly.

The fear and shock completely smacked Kanan in the face when he realized what Mio meant. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words.

"I thought you all were different," Mio raised her pain-staked voice," I thought you were different, Kanan, but you're just like other adults. Selfish and cruel. You hurt others, because you're hurting yourself, and you never once stop to think about how other people might feel. And you…you always leave…me," Her last words leaving her lips in a pained whisper. Tears were beginning to form on the rims of her eyes.

Kanan had only once seen someone in such ache before. The image of his padawan's face wincing in grief. It was the first time he'd ever seen Ezra cry at the memory of losing his parents, and it wasn't an image he ever wanted to see again.

"Mio. I won't leave y-"

"HEY! This area's restricted!" A stormtrooper yelled pointing his blaster directly at Kanan.

Kanan pulled out his lightsaber and began deflecting the troopers' shots as Mio watched in amazement; every flick of his wrist, every skillful movement. It was admittedly the coolest thing she'd ever seen. Kanan deflected shots back at some troopers and nailed some with his blaster. He took them all down as if it were nothing. He turned to look back at Mio who was still on top of the TIE and gave a brief smile, but Kanan hadn't noticed that one of the troopers hadn't been knocked out completely. He weakly raised his blaster and aimed it at the Jedi's back.

"KANAN!"

The trooper took one final shot before falling unconscious. Kanan barely dodged the shot, but Mio wasn't as fast. The shot roughly grazed the left side of her face right above her eye. Her scream was so agonizing, anyone who heard it could feel her pain. She her face in sting and stumbled around until her feet met the edge of the TIE and gravity sent her hurdling towards the ground.

"MIO!"

Mio laid there. The pain still stung her face, but surprisingly nothing else was hurting. She did just fall off a TIE fighter, right? She slowly sat up to a scene that seemed like a nightmare. Kanan laid there underneath her, a small puddle of blood forming around his head. His lifeless body didn't move an inch. He almost looked…

_Dead_.


	4. Chapter 4

_Kanan!? Kanan, wake up. Kanan! Kanan, Wake Up! KANAN. DON'T DIE, KANAN. KANAN!_

Mio's words echoed in her head as she sat in the dimly lit room. After the whole incident back on Lothal, Kanan remained unconscious in his bed for 3 whole days with a certain someone refusing to leave his side.

_He's suffered a small concussion and he's got a sprained ankle, but nothing too serious._

Hera's words played on repeat in Mio's head over and over again as she sat on the floor watching what little movement Kanan's body still offered. His chest slowly heaved up and down, his eyes and mouth occasionally giving a tiny twitch. He was so handsome, even in the simplicity of sleeping. Mio got up and moved towards him so she get a better look. She tucked the blanket over him and gently brought her hand up tenderly caressing his forehead. A cold shudder shot up her arm and through her whole body when her hand made it to the gash on the side of Kanan's head, and on impulse she spoke.

"I'm sorry."

She brought her hand to her own bandaged head. She had sustained a burn and a pretty nasty cut over her left eye, but other than that she was fine, thanks to Kanan. She reclaimed her spot and the floor and did all she could do: wait.

Mio sat there for hours when the door behind her split in two letting the light seep into the small room. She ignored it, but was more alert when a voice, which she'd grown quite aggravated of hearing, spoke up from behind.

"Mio," Hera said with concern," I know you're worried for him. We're all worried too, but you can't stay in here all the time. It's not healthy. You need to eat something."

Mio would have continued to ignore the Twi'lek, but, as if on cue, her stomachs started to play an intestinal orchestra of all sorts of distorted sounds. Mio didn't want to leave Kanan, especially not with Hera, but this was their fifth attempt at getting her away from him and she'd admittedly grown quite hungry. She slowly stood up and began making her way to the door, when she stopped, spun around, and rushed over to Kanan's side.

"I won't leave you," she whispered as she leaned down placing a soft and caring kiss on Kanan's forehead," I promise."

Mio quickly strode past Hera with no attempt at making any eye contact with her. Hera watched as the girl made her way down the hall to the kitchen. She was just relieved that she could be with Kanan for a bit now.

"Eat up," Sabine set a plate of food in front of Mio.

Mio sat at the kitchen table simply staring down at the food Sabine had made for her. It actually looked really delicious. The smell was very inviting, so one could only imagine how it tasted. Mio could only imagine. Her stomach was practically screaming at her to take a bite, but she just couldn't. Her mind wouldn't let her. Her guilt wouldn't let her, so all she could do was let the pleasant scent taunt her as it flooded her face.

"You just gonna stare at it," Zeb spitefully asked. He would have said more but he was silenced when Sabine elbowed his gut and gave him a piercing glare.

"Hey it's been a while since you've had something. You should really eat something," Ezra stared in a bit of concern. He nudged the plate of food closer to her in hopes that she'd at least take a few bites.

Everyone, even if Zeb wouldn't admit it, had grown an ounce of concern for Mio. Since Kanan had gotten hurt she rarely left his room and had eaten little to nothing over the days. Her face was a shade paler and her walking was a bit shaky, but she truly did care for Kanan and it was obvious to everyone on the ship. That's when Hera burst through the door. She said nothing, but the smile of relief on her face said it all. Mio was the first to come barreling in the room, the rest of the crew right behind her. Kanan weakly sat up in his bed to put all his weight on his shoulders.

"What'd I miss?"

"You're okay," Mio shrieked in absolute joy as she locked him in a hug.

Kanan was caught off guard by Mio's tight embrace, but he didn't dare object. He actually did kinda miss her smile.

Everyone recollected with Kanan, making sure he had everything he needed and filling him in on everything he missed. One by one, the crew members filed out of the room, every one of them greatly relieved he was finally awake, until there was only Hera and Mio left in the room with him. Mio opened her mouth to speak, but Hera seemed to read her mind and beat her to the punch.

"You want something to eat," she asked.

Kanan's stomach growled in response, so Hera left to go fetch Kanan a bite to eat. Mio scowled as she watched Hera disappear out of the room, but smiled back at Kanan. Kanan slowly sat up in a sitting position, being careful of his sprained ankle. His blanket fell off exposing him in a plain white tank top and dark green pj shorts. Mio was filled with so much happiness, she just couldn't contain it. She locked Kanan in another strong hug.

"I thought I lost you," Mio said with fear edging in her voice.

"Hey hey you heard me back there," Kanan softly patted and stroked Mio's hair," I won't leave you."

Not only his words but the sheer soothing tone of his voice made Mio's heart swell. She knew he meant what he said, and that was enough to bring her to tears, but she wouldn't cry in front of him, not now. He'd been strong for her so now it was her turn to be strong for him, but not before she gave Kanan his "reward" first.

"Kanan, you've been so nice. It's time I was nice back," Mio said separating from their hug. She stood directly in front of Kanan.

Kanan was confused at first, but was surprised and utterly shocked when Mio lifted her dress up, showing her light pink underwear.

"This is a reward for saving my life," Mio smiled.

The shock was written all over Kanan's face, but then he shut his eyes and his face turned tomato red.

"M-Mio!" Kanan tried to yell, but his voice came out cracked from the utter embarrassment.

"What? We are going to be married one day. You we're gonna see them sooner or later," Mio gave Kanan a totally innocent smile, before rushing out the room. She was going so fast she almost made Hera drop the tray of food she was carrying. She watched the girl run down the hallway leaving a trail of laughter behind her. Then she turned back to look in the room. Kanan sat there with a bit of shock still smeared on his face, then he proceeded to put his head in his hand and let out a long sigh. He thought of the decision he'd just made to keep Mio aboard the ship. There was no backing out now. Whether he liked it or not, she wasn't going anywhere.

"What have I done?"


	5. Chapter 5

Kanan snapped his eyes open in the darkness of his and Hera's shared room. He sat up glancing over at the snoozing Twi'lek beside him. Hera looked beautiful when she slept. He got out of bed easily so he wouldn't wake her, and let his bladder guide him to the fresher. The doors hissed open and Kanan squinted his eyes with the sudden exposure to light. He stepped inside as the doors automatically shut behind him, and stood over the toilet about to do his business, when he felt some small arms wrap around his upper waist. He looked down to see a pair of big green eyes smiling up at him.

"You need any help?"

* * *

It had been like this ever since Kanan recovered. It was like everywhere he went there Mio was: in his bedroom, in the kitchen, in the cockpit, even in the fresher. Always there with a smile on her precious little face. She was certainly making her presence known on the Ghost, and Kanan was becoming quite exhausted by all the attention he was getting, but in the very very very rare occasion that she wasn't around him she'd find someone else to bother. Chopper immediately didn't like her. True, he didn't really like anybody, but after that time she tried to take him apart to _"see how he ticked" _he had developed a growing dislike for the young one. She'd get into glaring contests with Zeb whenever they made eye contact. For some reason she was just plain annoyed with Ezra's existence, and had given him a rather demeaning nickname. She was still refusing to make any form of contact with Hera. The only one Mio seemed to at least moderately like was Sabine. She'd watch Sabine paint murals all over the ship, completely hypnotized by the amount of bright colors, and honestly Sabine didn't mind the audience, but if there was one thing the crew could all agree on it was that Mio needed something to keep her busy.

* * *

Kanan let out a long yawn as he entered the kitchen. He was a little shaken up by last nights "event" and didn't get a well-rounded rest after. His eyes wandered around the room until they fell on Mio. She was sitting at the table smiling as she happily ate her waffles. It was like she didn't have a care in the whole friggin universe.

'Adorable little brat,' Kanan thought.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Hera hummed holding up a cup of caf for him.

Just as Kanan was reaching out for it…

"HI! HI! HI! GOOD MORNING KANAN!" Mio slammed into Kanan and locked him in a tight hug. He had to grab onto the counter just to keep himself upright. "You want me to make you anything for breakfast?"

"Actually I just want my coffee,"

"You know coffee can be bad for teeth? Waffles are better. I'll make you some"

She tugged on Kanan's arm just trying to get him away from Hera. She had a pretty strong grip for a little girl, and this Kanan knew all too well.

"H-Hey Hey Mio ya know there is something you can do for me." Her eyes instantly lit up hearing those words. "I need you to go and find me a yellow shirt in my closet."

"I can do that," Mio responded with enthusiasm before heading out the room.

"Kanan, you don't have a yellow shirt," Hera took a sip of her own caf.

"I know," Kanan said claiming his caffeinated prize. "We _really _need to find something to occupy that girl's time."

Everyone hummed in agreement, but what was there on a rebel ship for a girl like Mio to do?

"Well you're the one who wanted to keep her here. I think you should be the one to help her occupy her time," Hera hummed.

Again everyone vocalized in agreement.

"ME!? Yeah, I can't see that going well. Ezra, why don't you do it? You're the youngest. You'd probably understand what kids like better than me."

Ezra immediately stood up and headed for the door. "With all due respect master. No. That girl hates me. I'd have a better chance at taking on a pack of rabid fyrnocks without a weapon than getting anything out of that girl." And with that Ezra left the room.

"Sabine?" Kanan said sounding desperate. Only to have the Mandalorian follow in Ezra's path.

Kanan glanced over to Zeb.

"You know better than to ask me," Zeb said not looking up from the morning holonet newscast.

Kanan finally glanced over to a cockily smiling Twi'lek.

"You make the mess, you clean it up," she pointed at him.

* * *

Mio did find Kanan's request odd, but didn't hesitate to do as he asked. Mostly she was doing it just so she could look through the clothes of the one she loved so much.

"Wow he could _really_ do with a wardrobe change," Mio chuckled. She pulled out a big grey sweater and slipped it over herself. The feel of the fabric, the warmth it provided as it draped her body. Just knowing it was Kanan's was enough to make her feel happy.

She continued digging through the rather messy and unsorted closet in search of what was requested, but with all the basic and bland looking clothing she was seeing something told her she was going find anything with any form of yellow any time soon. She was just about to give up on the search when something caught her eye. The corner of what looked like a book was sticking out from under a pile of clothes. Without hesitation Mio pulled out a dark pink magazine with a picture of a half-naked Twi'lek on it. She flipped through a few pages of erotica, envying the women and their well-figured bodies. She moved aside the pile of clothes to discover a whole stack of magazines just like the one in her hands.

'Kanan doesn't need this now that I'm here,' she thought.

* * *

Kanan exited the cockpit, and saw Mio happily striding down the hall towards him. It wouldn't have been unusual if it hadn't been for the fact that she was wearing one of his sweaters.

"Uh what do you think you're doing with my sweater," he asked.

"Oh Kanan, I couldn't find a yellow shirt, but I took the liberty of organizing all your things. " she smiled up at him and secured her arms around him.

Kanan was actually happy hearing this, and decided to return the hug.

"Thank you Mio. I appreciate that."

A smile decorated her face. She felt so warm and safe in Kanan's embrace it was like she was glowing. She stared up at him with a soft and gentle expression. Her eyes met his and for a moment, even if it was brief, they shared something. Something that made Kanan immediately break the hug. He brought a hand up to his face trying to hide blushing cheeks, but it only made Mio smile more. She began walking off feeling a sense of victory.

"Oh and I took care of that extra clutter in your closet for you. So you don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Extra clutter?"

"You know? That smut you were keeping behind that pile of clothes."

Kanan's sudden realization gave Mio a few seconds to slip out of sight.

"MIO!"


	6. Chapter 6

"MIO! What did you do with those with those magazines?"

"What any sensible person would have done, I put them in the trash shoot."

Kanan's disappointment was followed by his signature move. He brought one of his hands up and pressed hard on his eyes. Its times like this the word _ugh _was invented for, but he was interrupted from his moment when he was roughly yanked by his collar. Mio brought his face inches from hers.

"Now that I'm here I'm all the entertainment you'll ever need," she said bringing her other hand up to tenderly caressKanan's cheek, and for the first time in a long time, Kanan actually felt scared. He jumped back so fast he almost tripped over.

'Do all kids act like this,' he thought, but he put that thought aside when he noticed his sweater still on Mio.

"W-Would you stop fooling around… and take off my sweater. Why are you even wearing it?

Mio slipped the sweater off without hesitation.

"Ah, so you want me to take off my clothes."

Kanan noticed Mio fiddling with the straps of her dress, and then slipped them off her shoulders. Making Kanan jump and frantically rush over to her. He grabbed both her hands tightly and guided the straps back onto her shoulders.

"Ah Kanan you're being so forceful," Mio squeaked as her face changed a shade redder.

"You know you're being an impossible brat right now."

Those words earned Kanan a slap to the face.

"What was that for," Kanan said clenching his sore cheek.

"How could you say such insulting words after trying to force yourself on me," Mio huffed as she crossed her arms.

Kanan covered his face with his hands and let out a muffled scream of agitation.

"Ok let's try this a different way," Kanan said gently pushing Mio over to sitting booth.

Mio sat there in confused silence as Kanan slid in the booth across from her.

"So Mio what do you like doing? Is there anything in Tarkintown you used to do that you miss"

The girl raised a brow at the sudden question. "Why?"

"Because I wanna know more about you."

'He's such a bad liar,' she thought, but Mio saw this as a chance to get up close and personal.

"I'll tell you Kanan, but I'll only talk as long as I can hold you," she smiled slyly.

Kanan was taken aback by the girl's deal. The last thing he wanted right now was her to latch onto to him. Mio obviously had no problem showing him affection around others, but Kanan sure did. He was scared the other crew members were gonna get the wrong idea about the type of relationship they had, but if he didn't find something for her to do everyone else was gonna be at his throat. He didn't really have a choice at this point. His mouth quivered a bit as he stuck out his arm to welcome her in. And no sooner than he did Mio had her arms locked around his waist.

"Now start talking. I don't wanna stay like this any longer than I have to."

"School."

"What?"

"School. You asked me what I missed. I miss my school. Even though it wasn't technically school. Back when I was still in Tarkin a nice farmer lady would come around as often as she could. Her name was Mrs. Cedar. She'd gather up all the kids and teach us about all sorts of things, and sometimes she'd even bring us fruit from her farm. She'd always give me and my friends cherries. They're our favorite."

Kanan looked down as Mio snuggled up to him and really couldn't help but smile. She may act more grown than she is at times, but she's still just a child, and man did she look cute when she actually acted like one. They both sat in silence for a few moments, but then an unnerving thought began to sink into Kanan's mind. It something that Mio had said back when they were on Lothal

_Adults are selfish and cruel. They hurt others because they're hurting themselves. They never once stop to think how others may feel._

And now that he thought about he'd been just that. He was going to dump her back at Tarkin without even considering the type of situation she could've been in. Mio didn't have parents. She was all alone. And if anyone knew the feeling of being alone, it was Kanan. She needed someone just like he did all those years ago after losing his master, but no one ever came. And now look at how he'd grown up and what he's become because of that. He didn't want Mio to grow up like he did. She didn't deserve that. Nobody did.

"M-Mio?"

Mio ,who was almost asleep, opened her eyes and shifted to look up at him.

"What happened to… to your par-"

That's when the doors hissed open, and a very agitated droid rolled in. He seemed to be in an argument. In one swift movement Kanan used the Force to push Mio all the way back to the opposite side of the booth.

"How was I supposed to know you're supposed to turn left, give me a break ya bucket of bolts," Ezra argued with the astromech who was just a step ahead of him. They walked, or in Chopper's case, rolled right through not even noticing the two in the booth. Kanan let out a sigh of relief.

"Kanan?"

The extra voice made him jump where he sat. A sleek figure with paint-splattered armor was leaning in the doorway.

"Hera wants to talk to you. She's in the cockpit."

"O-Ok, I'll be right there."

Kanan looked across the booth to see that face Mio always made when Zeb and Ezra were doing something senseless. It was that pure look of annoyance, but this was the first time it was ever directed at him.

"Just go!" she snapped.

Kanan awkwardly slid out of the booth and made his way out and to the cockpit.

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me," Kanan said as he entered the room.

"_Actually_," Hera's tone made Kanan raise a brow," I just wanted you to myself for a little. I know how busy you can be with all our missions and Ezra's Jedi training, and now that we have a child aboard it's just…" she trailed off.

"You miss together time," Kanan hugged Hera still in her seat.

"Yeah…Yeah I guess I do"

"To be honest, so have I," Kanan tilted Hera's chin up and peered deep into her eyes before closing the gap between their lips together. They both held each other for what felt like forever, tangled in each other's zeal. They didn't get very much alone time so when they did they made the most of what they could, but as two hearts swelled with passion another was being shattered. Mio sat just as the cockpit door just listening, desperately trying to fight the tears streaming down her face.

"Why Kanan?"


	7. Chapter 7

"You're getting better," Kanan added to the firing squad.

"Learned from the best," Ezra said dodging one shot and deflecting another.

Kanan admired how well his padawan was advancing in training, but he had to make sure Ezra didn't get too comfortable or cocky with all his improvements. With that he gave the signal.

Chopper, Sabine, and Zeb began running circles in all different directions around their target.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ezra shrieked just barely deflecting a shot to the head, courtesy of Sabine.

"You have to be able to adapt to your changing surroundings," Kanan advised in a fatherly tone.

"Yeah kid do you really think troopers are gonna always stand still when they're firing at you," Sabine added.

"When's the last time storm troopers actually hit a target?" Ezra said through his helmet.

"The kid's got a point," Zeb added.

They were all so sidetracked with their activity they didn't notice their audience. Mio watched from the ramp waiting for her own signal. Even if they weren't on the_ best_ terms with each other, she had to admit Ezra was getting much better in his Jedi training.

"Ok I think that's enough for today," Kanan put his hand up, ceasing the fire.

That's the signal.

"Kanan!" Mio barreled down the ramp faster the hungry fyrnock after its prey, and she made sure she hit her target. She almost knocked Kanan over as she jumped up and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"M-Mio! I told you t-to finish those prablems..problems!"

Mio thought it was so cute when he tried to scold her.

"I already did. See!?" she held up her holo writing pad.

Kanan took it from her and inspected the assigned math problems.

"They're all…right?"

"Ofcourse they are silly. I guess you're just a better teacher than you thought," Mio tugged on Kanan's arm," C'mon you said when I finished the math problems you'd give me a reading lesson," she tugged even harder.

"You did all the multiplication? All the division? Even with the segments? And all the units?" Kanan scrolled through problem after problem, unable to find one wrong answer.

"Yeeeessssss I did em' all. Reading lesson. NOW!" Mio pushed and whined.

Kanan looked busy at the moment, which gave the rest the signal to take their leave.

"Hey Kanan I'm all souped up now. You sure you don't wanna work on some more stuff," Ezra said in his enthusiasm.

"You already had your time with him VIRGIN!" Mio hissed.

Ezra's eye twitched in aggravation at the sound of his recently given nickname.

"You're a virgin too," he exclaimed through tightly clenched teeth, trying not to sink down to the level of arguing with a 9 year old. The two glared at one another for a very long while until Kanan finally broke it up.

"Alright Mio lets go," he said leading into the ship.

Mio had just enough time to stick out her tongue at Ezra before catching up with Kanan, leaving a ticked off padawan to glare at their retreating figures. Kanan entered the common room with Mio just a skip behind him. Kanan took his seat in the booth, and Mio claimed her spot on his lap. It was the only place she'd sit when they had their reading lessons.

* * *

This was Kanan's brilliant solution. Since Mio liked school, and was a remarkably fast learner, the Ghost had become her new school. Every weekday one crew member would teach Mio something new. First was Hera, who taught home ec. She'd show Mio how to fix things around the ship and how to cook. Even though she wasn't sure if she was listening to her or not, considering Mio made no eye contact with her and didn't talk. Next was Sabine, who taught her art and culture. She showed Mio every element and form of art that could be expressed, and had just began to teach her another language. Next was Zeb with gym. He helped her with physical fitness and taught her different fighting styles, though 50% of class was him scolding her about her stance and balance. Next was Kanan, who taught her math, reading, and writing. He was becoming flustered at how fast Mio was accelerating. She was already studying at a higher level than someone her age usually would. And last but not least was Ezra, who would teach her street smarts. With Mio's small hands she was getting good at thieving and lock picking. And I guess you can say Chopper is the principal. He'd sometimes supervise over the lessons, but it was usually just to apply his usual dose of disarray.

* * *

"What we reading today," Mio smiled.

"The same thing we've been reading," Kanan said pulling up the holo book, which made Mio sigh at the sight of the book title.

"Ughhhhhhhhh_ The Cavern Whispers. _This story is so boring," she banged her head on the table_._

"You're the one who wanted the lesson so bad."

"But not over this story. It's just some stupid guy, lost in some stupid cave, discovering his stupid self."

"You're missing the meaning of it all."

"If the meaning is to bore me then I don't think I'm missing it all."

"The more you complain, the more reading time you waste. You know I'm gonna test you over this in our next lesson, and we're barely on part five so let's get started."

Kanan's persistence was something you couldn't argue with, and this was something Mio was slowly learning. They finally got on with the lesson. Mio would read until she got to a word she couldn't pronounce and Kanan would step in and help her out, pronouncing the word and telling her the meaning. They were reading for a good hour and a half until Mio made a request.

"Hey Kanan…can I have something if I do good on the test?"

"You mean like a reward? I guess that's alright, but only if you get an absolute perfect score on the test," Kanan smirked in hopes that this would get her enthusiastic about the reading.

"Fine. If I get a perfect score on the test will you have sex with me?" Mio looked up at him still on his lap.

Ofcourse Kanan was taken aback by the request that had just been suggested, but he wasn't about to be rattled by Mio again.

"Now why would you say such a thing and you don't even know what it means?"

"I don't know what it means? Or do you just not want to think I know what it means?"

Kanan wiped Mio's mischievous smile off her face with a slap to her forehead.

"Owwwwww, that's where Zeb hit me earlier," wailing as she clasped her forehead.

"We're done here," Kanan stood and slid Mio off his lap," You make sure you read the rest of that story."

Kanan rubbed his temples as he headed towards the docking area.

'What am I gonna do with that girl,' he thought.

He was surprised and a little confused to see the ramp was still down. Heading out he was greeted by the sound of technical repair overhead. He glanced up to see the vision of green in her pilot regalia. She was hunched over, wrench in hand, and seemed to be making some type of repairs.

Hera worked tediously, focused on getting her tasks completed.

"So you come here often?" she heard from behind. She looked up to see the cowboy jedi himself. A smile formed on her lips.

"Only when the gun turret is having rotating problems," she stood up putting her hand on her hip.

Kanan put his arms around Hera, and she did the same. They just held each other, slightly rocking back and forth. Each wanting to enjoy the other's company.

"Where did he go?" Mio wandered.

She'd come to another word she didn't recognize and needed Kanan's assistance. She followed the way she had seen him go and ended up at the lowered ramp. She circled outside the Ghost twice trying to find him until the sound of a faint footstep from above caught her attention. She just barely pulled the upper half of her body to the top when she caught sight of the two wrapped around one another, but this time she didn't even feel sad. She felt something else… something dark.

* * *

"I better go check on Mio," Kanan said breaking the hug," She can't get too far in that book on her own."

Hera walked to edge with Kanan and watched him proceed back into the ship.

"Ok gun turret still needs repair," she mumbled to herself as she scrolled through her to-do list of repairs," Diagnostics on Ghost and Phantom still need to be run, data logs need to be looked over…"

She was so engulfed in her own duties that she didn't notice the smaller figure standing behind her. Mio put her hands up inches away from Hera's back, ready to send her over the edge.


	8. Chapter 8

All it took was one little shove and Hera would be _broken._

_'__But how would this make the others feel?'_

Mio's arms began to lower as her common sense was beginning to come back.

_'__How would this make Kanan feel?'_

Her arms fell limp to her sides, and she lowered her head in pure indignity. It almost brought her to tears to know that she had even thought about doing something so hideous. Her whole body felt cold, and her mouth trembled as the name fell from her lips in a hushed whisper.

"Kanan."

Hera was brought out of her own thoughts and distractions when she caught the sound of a voice, but when she turned no one was there. She just shrugged it off and went back to her own obligations.

Finally finished with the much needed repair job Hera climbed down from the ship and was headed half way up the ramp when she noticed the young one sitting there hugging her knees with her head down. She was going to say something, but with all the interaction she'd gotten from Mio in the past she decided to keep to herself.

"How…?"

Hera had to stop in her tracks and take a few steps back. She turned her head to where she was just facing the girl. Mio actually looked up at her, revealing her tear streaked face, which made Hera faintly gasp and take another step back. Was this really happening?

"How do you get someone to like you?"

Hera was still a little shocked to respond, but she looked at the girl's distressed face and could just see the desperation in her eyes that were beginning to well up with tears again.

"Well," Hera claimed a spot next to Mio," That's simple. If you want someone to like you all you have to do is be nice."

Mio sat in silence as she thought on the advice that had just been bestowed upon her. Her green eyes blankly stared out into the fields of Lothal. With all the time passing, Hera's motherly instinct began to ache as her impulse to comfort Mio grew, but she didn't dare step over the boundary. This was the most interaction she'd gotten out of Mio since her being on the ship, so she decided not to push it.

"Be… nice," Mio said more to herself than Hera. When she realized the accuracy of Hera's words, her tears were wiped from her face, and replaced by a smile. She snapped right back to her usual energy-filled self. She jumped up and was at the top of the ramp in less than half a second, and almost disappeared from sight when she stopped to say one last thing.

"Thank you Hera. I'm glad I didn't do it."

Hera questioned that last statement, but just smiled it off as some kid thing. She couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment with all the collaboration she'd just gotten, even if it was less than 5 minutes of it.

Mio ran, skipped, and almost tripped down the hall as her excitement surged through her. She was so excited she barreled past Ezra and Zeb, and almost knocked the both of them over.

"Sorry Zeb! Sorry Virgin!"

Ezra angrily gritted his teeth and Zeb just snickered.

Mio ran wild until she finally came to the kitchen, and found her objective.

"KANAN!"

She full on tackled him onto the floor and into a hug. Mio nuzzled her face into Kanan chest as he was still trying to figure out what just happened.

"I'm going to be nice from now on Kanan," she so-happily smiled at him," Just you wait and see."

So from then on Mio did her best to be nice and be a good girl. She helped a lot more with cleaning up around the ship and helped whenever dinner was made. She didn't get into as many arguments with Zeb, Ezra or Chop, and she didn't pout (at least not in front of them) whenever they left her behind to go on missions. She was still just as clingy to Kanan though. That was never gonna change, and neither would her mischief.

"Where's my shirt?" Kanan muttered to himself.

He'd been wandering around the ship all morning in noting but his pants looking for his missing garment, wondering why it was missing in the first place. When he went to ask the others they were all just as oblivious as him, trying hard to contain their snickering at the sight of the shirtless Jedi. Kanan looked so abnormal without his shirt, and him being all agitated about it made it that much funnier. As he continued with his search he'd noticed something else out of the ordinary. A certain someone hadn't hugged, kissed, or said _I love you_ to him all morning, and that's when Kanan put two and two together.

Mio sat elegantly on her bunk above Sabine's. She held Kanan's shirt up to look it over.

"Not bad," she said proud of herself.

No sooner did Kanan barge in with a look of agitation on his face.

"Hi Kanan," Mio smiled brightly.

"Mio I thought you said you were gonna be good!"

"Wha…What do you mean? I have been good," Mio said sounding a little sad. She didn't understand why Kanan was so mad.

"So this is good? Taking my shirt and doing The Force knows what with it!"

Mio frowned and climbed down from her bunk with Kanan's shirt. It wasn't until she held the shirt up that Kanan could see the stitch marks.

"I just wanted to sew the rips in your shirt up," she said handing his shirt to him.

Kanan ran his finger over where the rips used to be. She'd done a great job sewing them up.

"Don't you have any faith in me Kanan," Mio frowned up at him.

Her sad little face made Kanan feel awful. She had changed and had been doing good. It wasn't fair of him to assume so wrong of her like that.

"Mio of course I have faith in you," Kanan said as he pulled her into a hug.

Mio was stunned, but would never object. She happily returned the embrace without hesitation. Sure, she hugged him all the time, but this time he hugged her, and that made it all the more special. It was just an added bonus that he wasn't wearing his shirt.

"I'm sorry," Kanan pulled her closer.

Mio looked up at him and gave him an impish smile.

"If you're really sorry give my boobs a kiss," Mio pulled her shirt collar giving a clear view of her chest.

"M-Mio!"

Mio barreled for the door before Kanan could say anymore.

"Have more faith in me Kanan, especially when I have that test tomorrow. Remember if I get a perfect score you have to give me my reward," Mio said before taking off down the hall.

_If I get a perfect score on the test will you have sex with me?_

Kanan pondered at the thought. Why of all things would she want something like that? She's just a little kid. She couldn't possibly know what that really means. Could she? He shook it off not wanting to think any more of it.

"That girl really is something else," he said slipping on his shirt.

* * *

Kanan just sat there speechless with Mio latched onto his arm with the biggest smile on her face. Mio had done a flawless job on her test and was even happier about what she would get because of that.

"I don't believe it."

"I told you to have faith in me."

Kanan got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw the sly smile plastered on Mio's face.

"Now about my reward."

The heat rose on Kanan's face as Mio brought hers closer until their noses practically touched. Something told him to pull away, but the look in her fragile little eyes just wouldn't let him. Was _this_ really happening?


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

**I am so terribly sorry that this has taken so long but my life's been pretty hectic lately. Writing two stories at once hasn't gotten any easier since school started back up, and with all the homework teachers pile on me I'm lucky to get just a few hours of sleep, but at least I'm a junior now. YAY! Anyway I'm in the process of writing the first chapter for the **_**Nightmare's Not Over **_**and hopefully the next time I post I'll have the next chapters for both my stories. Sorry again, hope you enjoy this chapter**

* * *

Kanan felt stuck. With Mio's arms draped on his shoulders and behind his neck, and the gap between the both of their lips growing smaller by the second, his brain and body had very little time to react.

WHAM!

Something hit the ship so hard Mio and Kanan were sent flying across the room. Both hitting the ground with a pain-filled thud, and not a second later Hera's voice was barking orders over the com.

"Guys we got a Star Destroyer on our heels and a squad of TIE fighters closing in I need everyone on their toes. NOW!"

Kanan stumbled to his feet on the unsteady floor, doing his best to make his way to the turret gun.

"Get to your cabin," he looked back at Mio, who had just made it to her feet.

"But I-"

"NOW!"

* * *

"Ezra I really need you to get those shields up and running."

"I'm trying," Ezra snapped.

"Does someone want to explain how a Star Destroyer just seemed to appear out of _nowhere_!?" Sabine asked as she nailed another TIE.

"If anyone knew do you think we'd still be here Sabine!?" Hera snapped.

The pilot was in an absolute frenzy, pushing buttons, flipping switches, just trying to regulate her ship, all while coordinating their attack over the internal com.

"Ooooooh no," Hera moaned in worry.

TIE fighters by the dozen were beginning to surround the Ghost in multiple formations. If this kept up they were going to run out of room to fly. Another round of shots came barreling towards the Ghost.

"Karabast!" Hera shrieked completely ticked off "There's a fire spewing in the lower hanger. Zeb take care of it. Sabine, Kanan I'm gonna need you to break up their formations. Focus fire on the center TIES. Chopper, man the apt gun, and get those TIES off our tail"

With a hum and a whirl Chopper rolled his way back to man his station. Meanwhile Mio was still just trying to find her footing. Staggering down the clattering hallway she latched onto the ladder when the ship was hit again and a forceful quake was sent through. Hera's quick and sudden barrel-roll sent Mio flying to the ceiling and back down to the floor. She landed on her arm with a horribly painful thud.

"Ow," she whimpered as the throbbing pain shot all through her arm. She just managed to look up in time to see Chopper get blasted. A violent amount of electricity surged through the droid before he was sent flying through the air, right in front of Mio. He let out a robotic shriek of agony before fully powering off, his mechanical appendage falling limp.

"CHOPPER!" Mio staggered over to the droid.

"Chop those TIES are still on us," Hera chimed over the com once more.

Mio looked back and forth between the fallen astromech and the gun controls that now had bolts of electricity dancing and sparking all around them, having been shot. She staggered over to them, flinching at any sparks that flew out towards her. She took one look over the controls, trying to recollect her memories of being taught.

"Ok, Hera said this is a simple one-handle artillery system," she mumbled to herself.

She glanced through the glass at the two incoming TIES. It was now or never.

"Here goes nothing," Mio took the controls, aimed, and fired, hitting one TIE and sending it spiraling into the other. They went down in a bright mass of sparks and fire. And in utter disbelief Mio smiled. She actually hit it.

"Path's cleared. Entering hyperspace."

Everyone sat back and let out the breath they had been holding, trying to recollect what had just happened. It wasn't often that they were taken by surprise. And no sooner did Kanan climb down from the turret did he find himself "under attack" again.

"Kanan! Did ya see!? Did ya see!? It was so awesome! I took out a TIE fighter," she squealed as she had him locked in a hug," When can I blow something else up?"

Kanan barely paid any attention to Mio when his eyes caught sight of the fried astromech on the floor.

"Chopper!" he hurriedly knelt down next to the fallen droid.

"Oh yeah," Mio said having forgotten all about him in her excitement.

* * *

Everyone sat in stiff silence in the common room, watching and waiting as Hera and Sabine diligently worked on repairing Chopper.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Mio broke the silence.

"Hopefully," Sabine answered, her face still in Choppers circuit panel.

"His power cell is totally fried and he's got a few blown circuits here and there, but he should be fine once were finished," Hera added installing Chop's new power cell. She gave the droid one more overlook before powering him back on. Chopper straightened up from his angled position, taking in his surrounding before his head whirled around frantically and his mechanical arms flailed and twitched all around in discomfort.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Hera calmed in her natural motherly voice," Relax Chop, you weren't off line that long. Look, I need you to scan the ship for any abnormalities. Do you think you can manage that?"

And in an instant Chopper was back to his sassy self. With a few opposing bleeps and insolent gestures he began his surveillance over the ship, while the others went off to make sure everything else around the ship was still steady and stable.

* * *

"I can't believe I overlooked something so critical."

"It's ok Hera, none of us could've known," Kanan reassured.

Everyone had assembled in the cockpit to discuss Chopper's review of the ship. Well…everyone except Mio. It agitated her to the point of eye twitching and foot stomping when they left her out of these sorts of things, but it didn't stop her from eavesdropping. Luckily the walls of the Ghost weren't very thick, so that made it all the more easy for Mio to listen in on their little meeting. With her ear pressed against the cool metal door she did her best to make out the words on the other side.

"So you're saying we picked up a tracker on our last visit to Lothal," Zeb huffed, agitated at the mere thought of some no-good Imperial placing a tracker on the ship.

"Yes, but the good news is it's attached on the side of the Phantom," Hera pointed out on the hologram Chopper was projecting.

"And how is that good news?" Sabine asked bluntly.

"It's good, because with it attached to the Phantom I can lead the Imperials away from the ship," Kanan answered.

"You wanna detach…. in hyperspace?" Sabine asked in _are you crazy_ tone.

"Look, if I don't then that Star Destroyer will be just a step behind us when we emerge from hyperspace, and there's no doubt in my mind that they'll contact ground forces to be waiting for us. I'll just lead them far away enough from the Ghost's trail, drop off the tracker, and be back before the Imperials even know what's happening," Kanan dictated.

"I? You mean you're going alone?" Ezra asked concern brimming his voice.

"That's right."

"WHAT!? You can't go by yourself! You just can't!" She bolted past the others and hopped straight onto Kanan's lap, fastening herself around him. "You can't," her last words came out with a quiver.

* * *

Kanan was quick to prep for his departure, he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He made it halfway down the hall from his room before he came to a pint-sized road block. Her head was down and if you looked close enough you could see that she was shivering a bit, but she didn't say anything so Kanan just shuffled past her, but was soon stopped again by a tug on his sleeve. He tried to pull away but that only made her squeeze tighter. She kept her head down and her back to him, only able to utter whispers as she spoke.

"Please don't go."

"Mio, let go of my sleeve."

"Maybe there's another way, we could-"

"We already discussed this, now let go"

"No."

"Mio!"

"NO!"

She did a complete 180 and full on latched her arms around Kanan's. He could feel her nails begin to dig in and her tears running down his sleeve.

"It…It's different when the others go…go with y-you, because I-I know you all l-look out for ea…each other, but you're going a…alone this time. Wh-what if something happens t-to you? What if you get hurt!?"

"Ughhhhhhh," Kanan released a soft sigh as he got down to Mio's level. "Stop, stop." Kanan cradled both sides of her face with the gentlest grasp, and began wiping the tears from her flushed cheeks. If there was one thing he hated more than the Empire, it was seeing this girl cry. Mio finally found the strength to open her eyes to Kanan, and for another moment they shared something. A connection, a bond, call it what you may, but it was definitely there and they both certainly felt it. When he realized how close their faces were, Kanan could already feel the heat rise in his own, but he managed to keep a cool composure.

"I know you're worried, but I promise I'll be fine. I'm a Jedi for crying out loud. I survived for years on my own," Kanan reassured with a slight smile.

Mio still wasn't totally convinced, but she didn't have anything to argue with that, so she simply reached her arms and waited for the obvious. Kanan didn't waste a second, he gladly took her in his embrace, and squeezed as tightly as she did. They stayed like that for a long while, neither wanting to be the first to break the hug.

"Can I at least have a kiss goodbye?"

Kanan was truly surprised at this. Not because of the question, but because Mio actually asked for it. Usually if she wanted to kiss him she'd just up and do it, but the atmosphere, their hug, the pure look from her watery green eyes was just too precious for him to say no.

"Ofcourse."

Mio's lips curved into a smile as she closed her eyes and tilted her head up, but the peck she was expecting on her lips arrived on her forehead. Her eyes shot open to the retreating Jedi already down the hall.

"Not today, runt!" He yelled back at her with a salute goodbye.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE AND GIVE ME A PROPER KISS GOODBYE!"


	10. Chapter 10

Kanan tightly strapped himself in the pilot seat of the Phantom, preparing for deployment.

"Prepping for separation."

"You be safe Kanan," Hera's voice hummed over the intercom.

"Don't worry, I'll drop the tracker off and be back before ya know it."

"Ready for separation."

"Copy that Ghost."

With that Hera began the countdown. "5…4…3…2…Detach!"

The Phantom was released from the Ghost's grip and instantly greeted with the flux of the depths of hyperspace. All around the ship was immersed in a bright hue of translucent colors as it was tossed around like a mere toy. He battled it out, tightly gripping the steer and holding it still as he tried to get the ship steady, and as it was literally flung from hyperspace he released the clutch and flipped a switch, and finally managed to level out the ship. With the Phantom finally stable Kanan let out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding in.

"Ok…Ok," he sighed in relief.

Kanan pressed on, and moments later the planet he was targeting finally came into view.

Stygeon Prime. A cloudy, frigid sphere of rock and ice the Ghost crew had become quite familiar with through past combats and encounters, and the absolute perfect place to lead some no-good Imperials.

"Let see if they can take the cold," Kanan murmurs to himself.

He raised his caution as he eased the ship lower and lower towards the ground, using the wind currents to his advantage. Fighting the currents hear with their haphazard courses and sudden uptakes could send some of the biggest ships into a mountainside, so slow and steady was really the way to go hear.

Upon reaching ground level and pulling the Phantom to a halt on the slick, icy surface, Kanan departed from his seat and set out to do what he came here for. He didn't want to spend any more time on this freezing orb of rime than he had to. As soon as the door pulled up the Jedi was hailed with hostile winds and sharp bits of hail that were like razor blades against the skin. Using his arms as a shield, he forced his way through the thick snow to the side of the Phantom, and yanked the tracker off with ease. He hastily tossed it aside to where it would soon be buried under the dense snow that was beginning to pick up. With a mission accomplished he wrapped his arms around himself and shuffled back to the door. His warm, shaky sigh filled the air in the ship with relief. When he began to regain the feeling back in his fingertips he brushed some snow off his clothes and out of his hair. Kanan practically melted onto his seat as he took a quick moment to relax before prepping once more for a takeoff. It took more than a couple times to pull the ship up and off the ground.

'Looks like I'm leaving just in time,' Kanan thought.

Kanan guided the Phantom just to wear the ship hovered over the tips of the mountains.

"Phantom to Ghost. This is Spectre 1. The tracker is dropped and I'm on my way back."

"Nice job Spectre 1. We'll be waiting," Hera replied, careful not to let the worry in her voice show.

Kanan turned his attention back to flying, about to pull further up and make his way away from this storm-forsaken planet when he heard a thud. He slightly glanced back, but figured it was simply just some clatter from the storm. Shaking it off, he once more focused his attention on flying the ship, when he heard it again. Looking back he could see some movement from the storage compartment above the seating area. He was quick to flip the auto-pilot switch and carefully move back towards the compartment. There was no telling what could be in there, most likely some alien creature who'd wandered in looking for warmth, but no matter the case Kanan reached one hand out to open it while the other traced over his gun holster.

Kanan fumbled with his gun and almost dropped it when he quickly opened the compartment and was greeted with those big green eyes and an innocent smile.

"MIO!"

She had herself tucked all neatly and tightly in the tiny storage compartment.

"You didn't think you were just gonna leave me back there, did you? She smiled bringing a finger up to her lips.

"What are you doing in here!?" Kanan yanked her out so roughly she nearly toppled over.

"I told you I didn't want you going alone, and I meant it. So I decided to tag along."

"You shouldn't be here. Do you know how dangerous it is...?" Mio opened her mouth. "Don't even answer that. Ofcourse you don't."

"Oh _c'mon_ what's dangerous abo- KANAN!" Mio screamed at the incoming projectiles.

A flock of Tibidee were headed straight towards the Phantom. Kanan barely had any time to react before jumping to the pilot seat and jerking the Phantom out of the way of the creatures. The startled creatures broke their formation to avoid the ship and in the process the Phantom was roughly blind-sided by the enormous bulk and power from one of their wings. The Phantom, now completely thrown off course, was sent hurdling towards the ground, and was taking a beating from the wind currents.

"Phantom to Ghost. We're going down!" Kanan stuttered trying to gain any sort of control.

The stumbling sounds of discomfort from behind caught his attention. A glance back revealed Mio stumbling around her feet barely touching the ground. With a quick groan Kanan stumbled back to her, grabbed her hips, and strapped her into a seat. He then quickly returned to keeping them both from dying. He pulled hard and drew the steer to his chest to level the ship out. He quickly had the turn when a mountain came into their path of crashing. Wind resistance nearly sent them right into the mountainside, but Kanan managed to curve the ships course just enough so the ship only crudely skinned its side.

"Brace yourself! This'll either be a rough landing or a gentle crash!"

Mio felt herself shrink a little at his words. She did as told and braced for impact. Kanan now put less power into lifting the nose of the ship, and more into slowing down. The first skid against the icy surface jerked the ship and its passengers, but the second gave some friction to the ship. That paired with the restraints of the Phantom lessened the force of the impact, and kept the two from flying when the Phantom slammed into a giant mound of snow.

Moments of heavy breathing and racing hearts gave Mio and Kanan some time to recollect themselves. Kanan released a sigh a relief when he grasped the fact that he was still alive. The Phantom could take one hell of a beating. When he fully regain himself he unstrapped and checked Mio. He kneeled to her and looked her over.

"You ok?"

She simply replied with a weak nod. Too upset for words.

"Good."

Kanan went back and sat in the pilot chair flipping the switches to start the Phantom back up. There was a high pitched whine with a few clanks but the shuttle didn't move an inch. He flipped some more switches and glanced to the data computers.

"No no no no no!" Kanan jumped from his seat. A heavy amount of black smoke was seeping from the front of the ship. "The engine must've given out." He flipped some more switches and let out another displeased sound. "And there's not even enough power to run a diagnosis," he then flipped on the com. "Phantom to Ghost, Phantom to Ghost come in. This is Spectre 1. We crash landed back on Stygeon Prime. Do you read?" He was answered with a light pitch of static, but no one's voice returned.

Kanan grunted again and pounded his fist on the controls as he lowered his head, clearly aggravated, but the slight crackle on the windshield brought his gaze back up. Frost was already beginning to form, and from the heavy pitter-patter outside it was obvious the storm was beginning to pick up.

"Well this is just great," sarcasm painfully obvious in Kanan's voice," Stranded in a storm with little to no power, and a busted engine."

Kanan rose from his seat and began rummaging around in the storage compartment.

"Looks like were sitting ducks. All we can do is hope the Ghost got my last transmission and wait."

Kanan tossed Mio the blanket Hera always kept stored in the Phantom for emergencies. He moved closer towards the door and sat on the floor smoothly with crossed legs and his hands on his knees. He steadied his breathing as he fell into a calmer state and began to meditate as he always did when things got hairy.

Mio watched him, draping the blanket over her shoulders. Kanan was very clearly frustrated and she knew it was all her fault. If she hadn't distracted him none of this would've even happened, and just like the blanket, guilt wrapped around her and caused her curl up and her face to cringe. She'd hadn't felt this guilty since Kanan fell unconscious saving her back on Lothal. This was her mistake, she had to make up for it somehow. She glanced back over to Kanan who had worked his mind to somewhere other than the inside of the Phantom, but she could see the slight shiver his body was giving off. Without an engine to provide some heat it was growing colder by the minute inside the Phantom. The air in the ship grew thick and heavy, until Mio finally worked an idea in her brain.

Kanan was too immersed in his own meditative state of mind to notice Mio move in front of him, but he jumped just a bit when he felt the soft warmth of the blanket around his body and a familiar weight in his lap. Mio sat right in Kanan lap, using her legs to straddle his torso. She reached around him and pulled the blanket around them both, which pulled them even closer together. Kanan could feel himself stutter before he even started talking.

"Mi-"

"This way we can both stay warm," Mio spoke softly. She rested her forehead on Kanan's chest, keeping it there and enjoying the heat radiating from his body. Kanan was too stunned to move or object. They were only keeping warm together. Nothing wrong with that, right? If it was nothing than why was his face so hot? How come he could feel himself growing… nervous? Kanan took in a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves, and the epic rise and fall of his chest caught Mio's attention.

"Kanan..." Mio locked her eyes with his. A silence sat in the air before she found what she was going to say,"…do you hate me?"

The air grew unnaturally heavy as the question hung there just waiting to be answered.

"Now why would you think something like that?" Kanan asked in disbelief.

"Then how come sometimes you don't hug me back. Sometimes you even still push me away, especially when the others are around. Is it because you think I'm a bad child?" Mio asked absentmindedly bringing her face closer to Kanan's. She was serious, and needed an answer. The look in her eyes was almost pleading.

"C-C'mon it's not like I'm pushing _you_ away. You're bright and cute. You're a really good child," Kanan reassured with a smile.

"I'm really a good child? Even if I call Ezra a virgin? Even if I looked at you're thingy in the fresher?"

"Fine, fine!" Kanan said hoping to suffice her. 'Did she really see it' he thought briefly.

"Even if I almost destroyed someone?"

Dead silence flooded the air once more. Kanan had to let those words sink in as he stared down at Mio, who just stared right back. _Destroyed someone_? She couldn't possibly mean… She's just a child. Granted, Mio wasn't the most normal child, but she was still just a child, and right now she needed guidance and comfort. She needed Kanan.

"Mio…doing something like that is definitely wrong, really wrong. But you are a good child! And don't you let anyone tell you otherwise."

All the doubt, the fear, the bad thoughts began to fade away from Mio as she looked up at Kanan and a smile edged her lips. She couldn't take her eyes away from his. Her heart simply swelled in her chest hearing such things come from Kanan. She hadn't felt happiness this great since…

"So does that mean…you like me?"

"Of course."

"Of course what?"

"You know!" Kanan could feel the heat rising in his face once more. "I like you."

"Like who?"

"I like you, Mio."

"I can't hear you." That was a lie, but she just couldn't help herself.

"I like Mio!"

"Louder."

"I Like Mio!" Kanan said louder than he intended to, and he blushed at his volume. He glanced down at Mio whose smile had only grown bigger, which didn't help his own growing embarrassment.

"And you'll always stand by my side?" Her question had a more gentle tone to it, not teasing at all, but her smile still remained. It made Kanan smile himself.

"Always."

Mio gave him a tight hug and went into a giggling fit. She couldn't contain her happiness any longer. She hugged, and shook, and laughed as she snuggled up to Kanan and buried her face into his chest. Kanan smiled as he was being rattled around. He couldn't be mad at such cute face and sweet giggles, but after a moment he stiffened up when he noticed all this shifting was beginning to have an effect in his groin area. He began to panic when Mio pressed her front to his, and he could feel her brush against him. He had to get her to stop moving.

Mio let out a tiny yelp, a bit startled, when Kanan suddenly locked her in bone-crushing hug. His grip was so tight. She could barely move. She tried to shift, but that resulted in Kanan hugging her even tighter. He wasn't letting her move another inch.

"Please," he nearly pleaded," ju…just stay still." His breaths were short and shaky, and Mio was still kind of in shock from the sudden embrace, but she did as Kanan asked. It was nice having him so close and sharing the warmth. She happily rested her chin on his shoulder and leaned against the side of his face.

"I'm sorry I made you crash the ship," she whispered in his ear.

Her soft breath brushed his ear and sent a slight shudder down Kanan's spine, but he found the composure to give her a response.

"It's ok. At least you're here to keep me warm."

Mio snuggled her face into his at hearing that, and Kanan let a smile slip. She truly was adorable. Kanan and Mio sat there, still as a statue. Both were enjoying the other's warmth, the comforting embrace, and the overall tranquility that sat in the air. The storm outside had long since been forgotten. It was as if the entire universe stood still. It was only them, and in all honesty, neither Mio nor Kanan had a problem with that.


End file.
